


désolé.

by orphan_account



Category: Gorillaz
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Lowercase, Murdad, Murdoc Niccals Acting as Noodle's Parental Figure, Murdoc may be a little OOC, Not Shippy, Short One Shot, set after plastic beach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:41:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23372578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: in which noodle and murdoc finally talk.
Relationships: Murdoc Niccals & Noodle
Comments: 1
Kudos: 35





	désolé.

**Author's Note:**

> hey! this is set after plastic beach, i know the doyathing video was confirmed as not canon, but shhhh just pretend theyre still living there lmao. also russel is at his normal size again in this after plastic beach so keep that in mind

life seemed to flash before murdoc's eyes during the attack on plastic beach.

he watched the chaos unfold while in hiding, eyes wide and breathing labored. he was just getting ready to flee once again, that's all he knows how to do, abandon ship! -until russel emerged from the sea, ten times his usual size.

murdoc seemed to feel his breathing stop when he saw him. the first feeling he felt was guilt. guilt for replacing him with some lousy drum machine that would never be able to capture his raw talent. the second thing he felt was relief, relief that he was _here_ and _alive._

he swallowed hard as he remembered the one member the trio was missing.

murdoc slyly snuck around the guns and the war that was starting to end, due to the massive whale russel threw into the air. he snuck all the way down to where russel was, half his large body submerged in the ocean. 2D was already running towards him as well, clearly frightened by the gunshots and planes crashing, but alive nonetheless.

"russ!" 2D called in his shrill voice, smiling wide enough to expose his missing teeth. 

the two reached russel, both panting as they arrived. murdoc slapped the back of 2D's head. "quit breathing so damn loud." he huffed. 2D ignored him, clearly too overjoyed at seeing the drummer of the band.

murdoc nodded his head at russel with a small smile as a greeting. the reunion was cut short by the sound of gunshots getting closer, murdoc whipped his head around to see cyborg noodle still shooting almost anything that moved in her path. murdoc looked back to russel with panicked eyes. russel stared at him judgmentally for a few seconds before he simply opened his mouth.

and out jumps someone murdoc thought he'd never see again.

noodle.

she looked so much older now, as she quickly removed her mask. she had a bruised eye and her hair was a little longer, she'd gotten taller as well.

but it was _noodle._ not some cyborg who could barely speak, but _his_ noodle.

murdoc was at a loss for words, his throat choking up.

2D wore the same surprised expression on his face, watching with wide pits of darkness as eyes.

noodle began walking towards the two, but her narrow eyes were trained on something behind them, her speed increased and murdoc could hear her ragged breathing as she got closer.

she looked _pissed._

instead of running into murdoc's arms and hugging him like he had secretly hoped, she brushed right past him, aggressively too.

murdoc and 2D both turned to watch her as she approached the cyborg. 

_oh shit._

she doesn't hesitate to grab the cyborg who was a head shorter than her. she stared into her clone's eyes and slammed her at full force into the ground by her neck, and murdoc hears the familiar sound of an angry sob and his heart tightens up dangerously.

"noodle, i-"

before he has the chance to explain himself, noodle screamed as she ripped off the cyborg's head in one hard yank. mechanical noises filled the air as the severed body twitched

noodle held the cyborg's head out in front of her, strands of her jet black hair falling into her eyes as she stared at murdoc, tears streamed down her face. 

"how could you?" she sobbed angrily, her body shaking.

for a moment it feels like it's only murdoc and noodle as her breathing becomes more mis-matched and her eyes become more distant, staring into murdoc's soul.

that's the only thing she has time to say before she promptly passes out, falling face first.

2D rushed to her side and russel called something out from behind them, but murdoc is stuck in place, staring at noodle's limp body, unable to move.

_how could you?_

_how could you?_

_HOW COULD YOU?_

he stared at his hands as they began to shake.

he really was a monster.

* * *

murdoc found himself in the kitchen once again at 3am.

his sleep schedule had been all sorts of fucked since the band escaped plastic beach.

noodle was recovering slowly, bedridden and traumatized. 2D would go in and cheer her up with jokes and even read to her sometimes like he did when she was younger and russel, finally down to his normal size, would make sure she got fed and her temperature was taken almost every hour. 

murdoc felt like an intruder with his own supposed family.

he hadn't talked to noodle since plastic beach, approximately three weeks ago.

murdoc sighed, leaning against the counter while taking a sip of the beer he'd opened.

another night where the only dreams he had were filled with teary eyes and _how could you?_ ringing in his ears.

murdoc stayed in that same position for a while, occasionally bringing the beer can to his lips for a small sip as he stared out of the window above the sink into the night sky of london.

his thoughts were interrupted by footsteps approaching him, he looks up slowly, expecting 2D to come up and ask him for a light like he always does, but is surprised to see someone completely different.

noodle.

murdoc stares at her dumbly. her short jet black hair is pinned back messily, exposing her narrow eyes, the scar still sitting heavy on her left one. she has a cropped sleep shirt on, paired with russel's basketball shorts, rolled up a few times to fit her waist.

murdoc instinctively pushes his beer can out of view, hiding his alcohol from noodle had become a habit by now.

she looked young. she looked so young and vulnerable.

murdoc's mouth opened and closed as he searched for the right words, eventually settling on: "you should be in bed."

noodle shrugged as she opened a cabinet, her fingers painted a chipped black, retrieving a water bottle. "needed water." she said simply in a cracked voice, her accent heavy as it always was when she was tired. she looked in murdoc's direction once more, a broken look passing through her expression before turning away to walk back to her room.

"wait." murdoc said hurriedly, eyes wide. he can't go on like this.

noodle stops, turning around, but staying in place.

the two stood in silence for a few moments as murdoc gathered the guts to apologize. he never apologized, he was so, _so_ bad at apologies.

but for noodle? he'd apologize a million times if he had to.

"i'm sorry." he breathed out. noodle blinked at him in response, but let out a small breath. 

"you...you made a cyborg of me? as a bodyguard? 2D told me everything, about how you used her- _it_ for self defense." she scoffed. her eyes squinted in anger as she slammed her hands on the table in front of her.

"you're a coward, murdoc niccals." she spat. 

murdoc sighed. "i know, trust me, noodle, _i know._ " he admitted. noodle shakes her head. "you didn't even care." her voice was choked as she stared down at her fingers curling into fists on the table. there was another moment of silence between them, the only noise audible was noodle's small sniffles.

she looked up at murdoc, her eyes full of tears. "am i that replaceable, murdoc?" she asked quietly, her voice breaking. "that you can just build some fighting clone and then just act like i never even existed?" she sobbed quietly.

murdoc suddenly became painfully aware of the distance between them. he was never soft with anyone, but noodle brought out a side to him that no one else ever had. a side that made him want to do better, to _be_ better.

he walked to her shaking form, hands hovering around her uncertainly. he hadn't hugged her in so long, he'd basically forgotten how to.

noodle initiated the hug, letting herself fall into his arms, tears soaking into his chest. murdoc subconsciously wrapped his arms around her. 

he held on tight, breathing hard. it'd been so long since he had _this_ and he wanted to cry in relief. "not a day went by when i was there where i didn't think of you, noodle." he admitted truthfully. "at first, the cyborg wasn't even there to fight, i created it because i couldn't stand not having you around." he laughed bitterly. "i guess you really have grown on me." he chuckled, holding tighter.

noodle laughs wobbly, the sound muffled by his chest, but the noise tugged at murdoc's heartstrings.

"i'm so sorry. i really am." he apologizes again, cringing at how bad he was at this.

apparently, it was enough for noodle. it always was. she understood him more than anyone on this damned earth.

she pulled her head back, sniffling while looking up at murdoc with loving eyes. "i forgive you." she mumbles, a smile growing on her face.

murdoc looks down at her, affectionately rubbing her hair. "gross, noodle, you got snot on my shirt." he laughs.

noodle playfully shoves him. "shut up." she giggles.

"c'mon, i better get you back to bed or russel will kill me." he remarks, throwing an arm over her shoulder, guiding her back to her room.

as murdoc helps her back into bed, pulling the covers over her, he ruffles her messy hair once more. "i love you, muds." she yawned, eyes closing as her lips curl into a content and sleepy grin.

murdoc's heart clenches. "i love you too, rascal."

and they were finally a family again.


End file.
